I've never seen this guy say anything thoughtful and he always seems angry. Why is he so appealing to confused peopled like Kotter?

Kotter blows in the wind (I'm talking about his politics, not his hobbies). He blew from Clinton, to Bush, to Obama, and now to Christie. Right now, Christie is the cult of personality politician of the moment - and for good reason - personality he's got. I personally like a lot of the stuff he says. Kotter would hate it if that stuff came from the mouth of someone less charismatic. But since Christie can say it and still come across as affable, Kotter creams his shorts over it.